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"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

rostering

This morning the freshmen got their numbers, and started telling people. Lorenz posted those he was able to gather, which was all but the transfers, Ulizio, and Shelton J. (Warning: 247 autoplays videos on their pages so mute first if you don't want blang blang blaring through your speakers).

May your obsessive compulsive videogame rosters be accurate, and your visions of greatness now come a bit more into focus around the chest and back areas. I'll update this as more come in today.

Freshman #s:

#

Name

P

Hgt.

Wgt.

You may remember this digit from…

10

Zach Gentry

QB

6'6"

230

Tom Brady of course, but also Todd Collins, Jeff Cohen, and friend of the blog Kyle Anderson. Da'Mario Jones was wearing this through spring so looks like he'll have a new jersey.

12

Alex Malzone

QB

6'2"

205

(Spring) Surprisingly few 12's have remained such through graduation (Grbac and Gardner both wore it for a time). Dreisbach was the last QB to do so.

22

Karan Higdon

RB

5'10"

190

Harbaugh era mooseback Gerald White is the only RB I can remember wearing it.

If you were to sort everything in the world by a factor of how much I pay attention to it vs. actual importance, what jersey numbers Michigan players wear is probably just below and to the left of Alan Trammell's snub.

His career was merely "average" for a Hall of Fame shortstop

If you don't care, I respect that; here's a report from BBC news on the rising nuclear tensions in South Asia that probably matters a lot to the long-term stability of the region and the horrifying possibility that our species might some day wipe out the better portion of the lifeforms we know of. If you do care who wears the numeral we associate with Woodson, maybe read up enough on the arms deal first so people will know you've got your priorities straight. All set? Alright here's what I think we should do with the Legends numbers.

The Legends Question

Earn it, Keith

I don't think anybody knows what they'll do with the program now. Hackett seems earnest in this evaluation period. I also have an idea where some of the pushback is coming from, since former players—in email groups, in private, and some publically—are a key demographic against them. Part of that's a get-off-my-lawn attitude among older guys regarding the over-attention paid to jersey numbers by kids these days. Part of it's the same jarring fan sensation of having long associations undone—the Kovacs Principle—and part of it's a new guy wearing sacrosanct numbers every year. I saw more complaints about Funchess wearing 87 while not blocking than Moore wearing it while not playing.

I wish they would keep this program, but only for underclassmen. The Seth Plan:

Establish a set of attainable criteria for each number. Past Legends have input but this shouldn't be the Braylon gauntlet—that worked for Braylon because Carr tailored it specifically to Braylon.

Establish a set of higher criteria for getting added to the patch.

Underclassmen interested in wearing a Legends number apply to their coaches

Number must be earned before a player either starts his 15th game, or reaches the end of his sophomore season of eligibility, whichever comes first.

Establish a set of criteria for having a new number Legendsized (so future HSPs can hope to wear #5)

I imagine if more than one young player wants the same number Harbaugh won't mind competition.

Projecting the Fall Arrivals

I used to try this every year: attempt to predict numbers for the new guys to wear. Before MGoBlog it was an annual rite of rostering the new NCAA game. Last year I missed it; in 2013 I went 12 for 22 with the scholarship guys, but that was in June when some guys already knew their numbers. This year I'm gonna try to do it early and honestly.

That’s got to be a new legends number, right? Nobody got 11 or 21, FWIW.

Freshmen #s

The incoming freshmen were all bequeathed their digits as well. I give them here with a few notables to have worn the digit at that position in the past. I’ve chosen to include the freshmen who were here in spring; a list of just the fall arrivals is here, courtesy Wolverine Devotee. Burn these into your memory so that it will hurt more when they’re changed to Legends numbers in a few years.

Player

#

Pos

Ht

Wt

Significance

Ian Bunting

94

TE

6'7"

223

Matt Studenski was the last TE. Massey, Horn.

Juwann Bushell-Beatty

76

OL

6'5"

295

Steve Hutchinson, and Brandstatter

Freddy Canteen

17

WR

6'1"

170

Forgotten great end (1930s version of WR) Ted Petoskey. Personal fav Carl Tabb.

Mason Cole

52

OL

6'5"

275

Rod Payne. Schilling.

Michael Ferns

51

LB

6'3"

233

John Duerr and a Brackins. (Everitt on offense)

Noah Furbush

59

LB

6'4"

229

89-90 linebacker Alex Marshall. The Sarantos my friend dated.

Drake Harris

14

WR

6'4"

180

Closest I can think of to a receiver getting PT is Andy Mignery.

Lawrence Marshall

93

DE

6'4"

230

Hoban and Jackson in the '70s. I see 93 I think Sam Sword.

Bryan Mone

90

DT

6'4"

315

Norm Heuer was a DT. Feazell, Jamison, DeFelice.

Brady Pallante

54

DT

6'1"

255

Donnie Warner. Imagine if Rudy actually become a really good starter, and was real.

Jabrill Peppers

5

DB

6'1"

210

Jersey manufacturers, start your presses. Coleman Wallace is the best CB, competition is Whitley. Think Jabrill will keep it all 4 years?

Wilton Speight

19

QB

6'6"

230

The other Forcier. And Harry Newman's backup.

Jared Wangler

19

LB

6'2"

215

Early '70s "Wolf" safety Darrell Truitt

Brandon Watson

28

DB

5'11"

185

Early '90s hard-hitter Deon Johnson.

Maurice Ways

85

WR

6'3"

192

Curt Stephenson and Marcus Knight

Chase Winovich

58

LB

6'3"

216

Dave Brandon Endowed This Position With His Own Name Not Kidding Cornerbacks Coach Roy Manning. Also '80s OLB Keith Cowan

Also:

Ty Isaac

32

RB

6'3"

225

A-Train.

Please only give this number to tiny safeties and huge running backs from now on forever kthx.

Heitzman Expansion Principle

This is the corollary to the Heininger Certainty Principle: a person, once removed from Hoke’s defensive line, will apparently grow 1 or more inches in height as his body adjusts to the difference in pressure. Heitzman is now listed 6’4”, one inch taller than he was in spring.

The 2013 rosters were updated yesterday afternoon with the freshmen added little tiny bits of else. Could have used this two weeks ago for HTTV. Anyhoo, this kind of thing is what passes for a holiday around these parts. The weights weren't changed so Brian will have to wait until the football media guide comes out (usually early August) to do his WEIGHT GAIN 2000 thing but no amount of "take the day off" is going to stop me from obsessive attention to rosters. Obsessive attention! To rosters!

People from the Spring Roster Now Missing

Nobody. Wait: not nobody. Dan Gibbs is gone but he wasn't on the spring roster despite participating.

Position Changes

Just some stuff on the defensive line. Most intriguing is Brennan Beyer's move to SAM isn't reflected; he remains listed as a DE. Wormley was a DE on the spring roster, is now the nebulous "DL" which I am taking to mean could be either 3T or 5T. Preferred walk-on Ryan Glasgow got "DL" as well, changed from DT. Tom Strobel is a DE instead of DT; since I took it as a bad sign when he seemed to be listed as a DT, going back to the SDE depth chart must be seen as a good sign. These signs are huge overreactions.

The freshman heights and weights were almost certainly taken from Rivals, or perhaps the same book that Rivals uses. Other than the early enrollees, the only height or weight difference is they put Derrick Green at 5'11 instead of 6'0. The big disagreement seems to be on Shane Morris (pre-/post- mono?), who's 183 to Rivals/MGoBlue but 202 to Scout and 201 to 247Sports; ESPN split the difference at 190. Other weight disagreements I'm keeping an eye on: Scout had Gedeon, Delano Hill, Chris Fox, and Mike McCray 10-15 lbs heavier, David Dawson 8 lbs lighter.

Still Missing

The new walk-ons. Preferred guys I know of are quarterback Garrett Moores, receivers Blaise Stearns and (EDIT) Jack Wangler, guards Dan Gibbs and (left team) Greg Froelich, and kicker J.J. McGrath. DeAnthony Hardison, the nifty running back wearing 18 in the Spring Game who wasn't on the listed roster is still not on the listed roster. Wait for the media guide I guess. Happy 4th.

What it is: redshirting comes from the five-to-play-four rule. As written:

14.2.1 Five-Year Rule - A student-athlete shall complete his or her seasons of participation within five calendar years from the beginning of the semester or quarter in which the student-athlete first registered for a minimum full-time program of studies in a collegiate institution, with time spent in the armed services, on official church missions or with recognized foreign aid services of the U.S. government being excepted. For foreign students, service in the armed forces or on an official church mission of the student's home country is considered equivalent to such service in the United States.

14.2.3.5 Participation after 21st Birthday - Any participation as an individual or a team representative in organized sports competition by a student during each 12-month period after the student's 21st birthday and prior to initial full-time enrollment in a collegiate institution shall count as one year of varsity competition in that sport. Participation in organized competition during time spent in the U.S. armed services shall be excepted.

This is the 2010 version of the 1996 version of the 1986 "prop 48" that codified a rule going back to one of the NCAA's original guidelines from 1910. One of the first rules of the fledgling Big Ten was to require a year of residency at the school before competing. As the NCAA reformed through the 1930s the five-to-play-four thing was codified. Nebraska legend claims the first redshirt (they would), when Warren Alfson asked to sit out 1937, his sophomore year. The term comes from the color of the shirt scout teamers at some team wore—too many schools claim to be the origin for us to know which it was.

2012 Update: Among last year's guys, Clark, Gant, Strobel, Wormely, Godin, Henry, Ringer (no longer with team), Bars, Braden, Kalis, Magnuson, Drake Johnson, and Chesson made it through with their redshirts intact. Wilson, Pipkins, Bolden, Ross, Norfleet, Funchess, A.J. Williams, and Darboh played often, and Richardson, Ojemudia, Jenkins-Stone and Houma had theirs burned on special teams or backup duties or because Frank Clark got himself benched for a game. Gardner received his medical redshirt, and Countess put in for what will almost assuredly be his. Hagerup will have 2013 count for him.

Michigan's Redshirting History

My data goes back to 1993 because that's how far back Mike DeSimone goes and I used him to extend my database beyond my fan memory.

Class

Recruits

DNE

RS'ed*

% of class**

1993

23

17

74%

1994

22

19

86%

1995

19

14

74%

1996

20

14

70%

1997

18

10

56%

1998

19

10

53%

1999

23

19

83%

2000

19

1

13

72%

2001

21

15 (+1)

71%

2002

21

1

15

70%

2003

16

9 (+1)

56%

2004

24

18

75%

2005

24

13 (+2)

54%

2006

21

1

11 (+1)

55%

2007

23

11 (+3)

48%

2008

25

2

14 (+1)

61%

2009

23

1

14

64%

2010

27

4

12 (+1)

52%

2011

21

2

11 (+1)

58%

2012

25

13

52%

Total

434

12

271 (+12)

64%

* Those parenthetical +'s are medical hardship redshirts or mid-career transfer years, e.g. the three for 2007 are Woolfolk, Hemingway and Threet.

** % of those enrolled who redshirted as freshmen

DNE=Did not enroll

We're guessing non-qualifiers were a problem solved by the regime change and this staff's tendency to target guys who spend their weekends doing nothing but homework and helping old ladies cross the street. Anyway they happen before the redshirt decision is made so I've removed them from the numbers. We see some fluctuating, where anywhere between a half and 86% of a class is shirted. In chart form (click biggets):

As you figured, position matters.

Position

Recruited

Redshirted

%

Quarterbacks

21

13

61.9%

Running Backs

33

12

36.4%

Fullbacks

19

10

52.6%

Receivers

42

22

52.4%

Tight Ends

27

21

77.8%

Off Linemen

72

69

95.8%

Def Tackles

31

17

54.8%

Def Ends

36

24

66.7%

Linebackers

55

37

67.3%

Safeties

32

18

56.3%

Corners

36

14

38.9%

Specialists

18

14

77.8%

Cornerbacks and running backs tend to play right away. Receivers, safeties, fullbacks and defensive linemen play if they're big enough. Quarterbacks, linebackers, ends and tight ends are shirted if possible while they bulk up. Offensive linemen nearly always redshirt.

Hype matters too. I only have average stars to whatever sites in my database back to the class of '97 but that'll do:

Stars

Recruits

RS'ed

%

★★★★★

21

6

28.6%

★★★★.5

29

19

65.5%

★★★★

84

46

54.8%

★★★.5

89

57

64.0%

★★★

94

60

63.8%

★★.5

24

17

70.8%

★★

7

6

85.7%

Walk-on

10

10

100.0%

Predicting the Class of 2013

Player

Pos (RS rate)

Stars

RS??

Reason?

Kyle Bosch

OL (96%)

★★★★

yes

Is OL. However early enrollee and 2nd in this class to play if needed.

Jake Butt

TE (78%)

★★★★

no

EE. Could use poundage but Funchess and Williams only guys ahead

Taco Charlton

DE (67%)

★★★★

no

Beyer's move to SAM puts Taco on the three-deep at WDE, a rotational position

David Dawson

OL (96%)

★★★★

yes

Is OL

Reon Dawson

CB (39%)

★★★

yes

One of them has to.

Ross Douglas

CB (39%)

★★★.5

no

EE and at least one of the young corners will play.

Jaron Dukes

WR (52%)

★★★.5

yes

Either he or York will probably play this year.

Chris Fox

OL (96%)

★★★★

yes

Is OL

Ben Gedeon

LB (67%)

★★★★

yes

LB depth is finally good enough we can RS these guys.

Derrick Green

RB (36%)

★★★★★

no

Probably #2 on depth chart right now.

Delano Hill

SS (56%)

★★★.5

yes

May crack the depth chart w/ M-Rob's departure but there should be enough guys ahead.

Khalid Hill

TE (78%)

★★★

no

They played Houma last year and Hill is a weapon Borges can't wait to deploy.

Maurice Hurst Jr.

DT (55%)

★★★.5

yes

If one of QWash,Pipkins or Henry may need freshman NT, otherwise RS.

Da'Mario Jones

WR (52%)

★★★

yes

Is the slot of the WRs; there's two seniors there now (Dileo & Jackson)

Patrick Kugler

OL (96%)

★★★★.5

yes

Is OL but could be in the mix; if he's not ahead of both Miller & Glasgow he should shirt. Burzynski can be 3rd guy at C.

Jourdan Lewis

CB (39%)

★★★★

no

Corners play early, or get wasted on punt coverage.

Mike McCray

LB (67%)

★★★★

yes

See Gedeon

Shane Morris

QB (62%)

★★★★.5

no

Death to ACLs

Henry Poggi

DT (55%)

★★★★

yes

Is the more 3T of the freshmen, so lots of options ahead of him.

Dan Samuelson

OL (96%)

★★★.5

yes

Is OL, needs to develop as a pass blocker.

Wyatt Shallman

RB (36%)

★★★.5

yes

Will RS while they find a position for him.

Deveon Smith

RB (36%)

★★★.5

no

RBs play early, will pass Rawls by end of season as #2 thumperback.

Channing Stribling

CB/S (39%)

★★★

yes

Skinny and positionally unsure but probably will be wasted on special teams.

Scott Sypniewski

LS (96%)

n/a

yes

Glanda still here.

Dymonte Thomas

S (56%)

★★★★.5

no

Already the starting nickel

Logan Tuley-Tillman

OL (96%)

★★★★

yes

Is OL, developmental prospect, a lock.

Csont'e York

WR (52%)

★★★

no

One of the receivers will have to play at least, York seems most polished.

It's an annual rite of fan dorkiness each year to try to be the first to guess which numbers the incoming freshmen will be given by obsessively google stalking them. Sometimes I have some inside knowledge from a recruit who was promised his digit, or tweeted his preferences or something. Here's how I did last year:

Name

Pos.

# in HS

2012 Guess

Actual

A.J. Williams

TE

88

88

84

Allen Gant

S

7 and 14

14

12

Amara Darboh

WR

15

15

82

Ben Braden

OL

51

51

71

Blake Bars

OL

67

72

62

Chris Wormley

DE

47

84 or 68

43

Dennis Norfleet

RB/KR

21

21 if available, or 31

26

Devin Funchess

TE

5 and 15

85

19

Drake Johnson

RB

2 and 18

32 or 6 or 23

29

Erik Magnuson

OL

77

78

78

James Ross

LB

6

36

15

Jehu Chesson

WR

5

82

86

Jeremy Clark

S

2

29

34

Kyle Kalis

OL

67

67

67

Mario Ojemudia

DE

53

53

53

Matthew Godin

DT

62

62

99

Ondre Pipkins

NT

71

56

56

Royce Jenkins-Stone

LB

10

10

52

Sione Houma

FB

35

41 or 32

39

Terry Richardson

CB

3 and 6 and 9

9

13

Tom Strobel

DE

36

63 or 93 or 86

50

Willie Henry

DT

74

74 or 68

69

Four out of 22 ain't…well yes it is. It was bad. This article is useless. Let's continue it anyway; I swear to do better.

Getting to know you. Each coach has his own tendencies with this so we'll get better at it in time. With Hoke, he seems to like having consecutive numbers in the same position group, perhaps for mentoring purposes because they sit next to each other in the locker room. It's far from a rule, but it's a trend. Carr rarely let a player share a specialist's digit, but Hoke doesn't seem to have a problem with it, for example Wormley and Hagerup share a number, and walk-on tight end Alex Mitropoulus-Rundus (I'm gonna just start calling him "Alex M-R") has the same digit as backup punter Kenny Allen. Rich Rodriguez was far more apt to share numbers, and the single digits were nearly always doubled up; Hoke has said in the past that he doesn't like doing that, and the practice has been limited—as of spring just 5, 12 and 34 had scholarship recruits in both numbers, adding 54 and 56 to those double-occupied by players on the two-deep.

The roster lies. The official MGoBlue.com roster still doesn't have DeAnthony Hardison, that nifty RB you saw in the Spring Game. He's #18. Also a practice insider told me Anthony Capatina is playing slot receiver, not "DB" as he's listed on the depth chart. Also weirdly missing from that roster is #79 right tackle Dan Gibbs (a Seaholm Mape!!!), a 2012 preferred walk-on whose twitter profile pic is him riding an oliphant:

Legends/Special #s: 1 because Braylon's scholarship killed the fun, unless Gallon gets it. It won't come as much of a surprise to you that 2 will probably be entering the Legends program this season. There will also be some push for 16, and I doubt it'll be assigned to an offensive player immediately. 11 for the Wisterts, 21 for Desmond, and 87 for Ron Kramer are currently open; it is likely they'll be assigned to veterans whose digits might then be made available if it happens before the season. Bennie's 47 and Jerry's 48 remain occupied by current players and there's no way a second guy will get them. And I've been told they're still working on the Harmon family with 98. Anyway they won't go to freshmen.

Walk-ons with soft claims: Every year there's a Jon Keizer on the roster who thinks his number is safe, then some top running back recruit in the country (right: from Scout) runs him over with star power (dadada, didda-da diddadidda…). Scout teamers without scholarships often have their numbers taken, for example Charlie Zeller was 19 on the 2012 spring roster and Paul Gyarmati was sitting on 99, but Devin Funchess and Matt Godin nabbed those digits last fall. This year they are15 (Shaun Austin—note that Ross has it on D), 18 (DeAnthony Hardison—note that Countess has it on D), 27 (Jon Keizer), 36 (AJ Pearson—note that Kerridge has it on O), 42 (Dylan Esterline), 46 (Clark Grace), 49 (Brad Anlauf), 51 (Bobby Henderson), 59 (Mark Lawson), 63 (Ben Pliska), 66 (Dan Liesman), 70 (Kris Mateus), 79 (Dan Gibbs), (91 (Alex M-R, though Kenny Allen wears it too), and 95 (Anthony Capatina and Mike Jocz). The other walk-ons I didn't mention (Dever, Cleary, Glanda, Burzynski, Reynolds, Allen, Gunderson, Jocz and the Glasgows) are either on the two-deep already or in the mix.

You just said Pi. We're Michigan fergodsakes. All the constants—φ, ζ(3), α and δ, Euler's e, γ, λ, K, r, and Ω—ought to be fair game, and if someone takes √-1 and uses the nickname "Impossible" he will be my favorite for ever and ever.